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Zerkhal Sparklelock
Background Born, orphaned, and raised in the goblin slums of Boralus, Kul Tiras, Zerkhal Sparklelock had no knowledge of his parents and no knowledge of any kin. As a babe he only survived as long as his mother could nourish him but unknown circumstances required her life and existence in the world. He was a street urchin who lived on the streets and survived by petty thievery, stealing food and clothing, and preferring the generosity of humans rather than the greediness of goblins. Before Zerkhal Sparklelock became a legal name, the Tirassian community in Boralus called him "lima rodante" or "rolling lime" due to his lack of stillness and yellowish-green skin complexion. When Zerkhal became 10 years old, he became more ambitious in his thievery and started to pilfer money and valuables. Employing misdirection, he would often cause noise and distractions to divert the attentions of marked people and found that weapons were a perfect tool. Shooting out a window or shattering a vase was a favorite tactic. His life changed forever when a local gunsmith, Tercius Fishrigger, found out that Zerkhal stole one of his arquebuses. Instead of going to law and persecuting Zerkhal for his theft, Tercius sought a more mutually beneficial alternative: debt bondage. Zerkhal would spend several years as Tercius' apprentice in gunsmithing and basic engineering, learning the trade and paying for his crime. Another 10 years have passed and Tercius suffered health problems due to his venerable age. He could no longer keep his shop. Even though his goblin apprentice has truly shined in brilliance and competence of the trade, Tercius was not inclined to part with any of his estate other than his legitimate sons. He was however kind to give Zerkhal a good measure of the proceeds of his last sales and services, but it was not enough for Zerkhal to start off on his own shop. He had a great love for firearms and conventional engineering that he didn't want to go back to the life of a thief. Only one option remained: the Kul Tiras Marine Corps. Military service, privateering, Steamwheedle Cartel citizenship Zerkhal Sparklelock, becoming of age, had processed his entry into the Kul Tiran Marines with his desired name. Completing basic training, he was both a swift runner and proficient in the use of missile weapons(particularly firearms) and was given advanced training to become a scout. Zerkhal served a two-year stint of island-hopping, where he often had to worm his way towards and returning from territory held by hostile pirates(a much more dangerous threat in that day). Because he was a goblin, racial discrimination often kept him from receiving honors but he was secretly celebrated by his units. When his stint was over, the career option of privateering became open. The Admiralty of Kul Tiras was growing greatly in power and this has convinced some pirates and civilian sailors to expand the power of the Fleets. Zerkhal was one such individual who privateered, serving various ships. He would also be one to see the Bloodsail Buccaneers in their zenith. Due to the various dangers of sailing, Zerkhal retired from being a privateer once he still had his youth and a decent amount of coin. By age 31, he decided to look towards a different direction. Much of the world was changing in Zerkhal's day due to the first arrival of the orcish Horde. Goblinkind realized that advancing in trade and commerce would be the one way they could survive in the world and as a result, mercantile societies began to flourish. The Steamwheedle Cartel was one such society that expanded into Kalimdor. In the waning days of Zerkhal's privateer career, he heard that Trade Prince Steamwheedle was expanding in the desert of Tanaris and wanted to establish a settlement that would named Gadgetzan. Having enough coin to become a member, Zerkhal paid his citizenship price to become a member of the Steamwheedle Cartel and took part in settling in Gadgetzan, where more opportunities awaited him. Adventuring, mercenary work Tanaris as a desert was rife with the abundant dangers of a wild land, but it was nothing that Zerkhal couldn't handle from his experiences. Setting up his gun shop in Gadgetzan, he'd advance and progress on his trade and apply it to the open desert. The biggest immediate threat the Cartel dealt with were the sand trolls of Zul'Farrak, who were seeking to expand their empire. As one man can make all the difference in the world, Zerkhal used his skills in skirmishing against the trolls. Being just as lethal but more fleet of foot than the armored bruisers, he was literally a death kneller for the trolls. Not only did Gadgetzan grow steadily because of being free from molestation but the tiny town began to grow exponentially because of Zerkhal's heroics(or the rumors and hearsay thereof). Since Archimonde's defeat at the World Tree and in the years following, Zerkhal continued to move up into the world, selling guns, scouting services, and the occasional "problem resolution". He saw the forming of the Grand Alliance by King Varian Wrynn and the New Horde by Thrall. Preferring to enjoy mutual neutrality, he expressed no interest nor favoritism with the two emerging superpowers and their racial components. However, Zerkhal was a goblin who always wanted to aspire to greater challenges. As both the Alliance and the Horde scramble over Azeroth and her resources, Zerkhal sought fit to capitalize on their pursuits. Zerkhal's most prestigious feat was when he scouted and tracked black dragon activity in Tanaris that led through the Land of Thousand Needles and towards Dustwallow Marsh. Zerkhal was not privy to the fact that Onyxia sought to control territory by increasing the size of her brood, yet he quickly became a thorn in her side by destroying her eggs in raids. Because of him Onyxia was forced to watch after her eggs more often in her lair which put her in a quandary with her cover identity as Lady Katrana Prestor. Though not the one purely responsible or critical for her fall, Zerkhal was the one who contributed to it the most of any hero prior. Seeing in within himself greater potential, Zerkhal enlisted himself as a mercenary for both the Alliance and the Horde in various battlegrounds and interbellum conflicts. This continued on for years after the fall of the Lich King, the Cataclysm, the discovery of Pandaria, and the reopening of the Dark Portal into Draenor. Prospects of the future Zerkhal Sparklelock's ultimate dream was to become Trade Prince of his own empire and he sought to do so with his gunsmithing company he named SPLOCK. Throughout the years and through many tests, trials, and tribulations, he wanted to put a gun on the market that could reliably discharge a round. Particularly going against the dwarven and more sophisticated gnomish makes, Zerkhal engineered an enclosure breech that could contain and concentrate a sufficient spark at the pull of a trigger. It was a simple but revolutionary technology patented by him that proved itself tried and true starting in the Scourge War, where the harsh climate and setting was more unforgiving on firearms. To the present day at becoming 60 years old, he sought to gain production capital in various different ways, hoping to become Trade Prince by his powerful entrepreneurialism and live out the rest of his days. Characteristics and attributes Being both and neither of a Warrior and a Hunter, Zerkhal is a goblin that wears either hat when he needs to with almost exclusively a gun or a crossbow, accounting for the seldom use of a short sword for immediate self-defense. Speed and dexterity are his shining attributes while carrying the usual intellect and wisdom attributed to the goblin race. Big weaknesses of his are found in his Strength and his Constitution, which he is known to run away from something he can't out-muscle or toughen out(though his military background helps him a little in this regard). As a typical skirmisher through-and-through, the concept of standing your ground is a fool's game to him. Personality and features With light blond hair and yellow eyes, Zerkhal embodies the color of yellow. He is of above average height and has somewhat of a lanky build for a goblin. Besides the tattoo of a cracked black dragon egg on his upper right shoulder and basic loop earrings, Zerkhal also wears stud earrings made from the metal cartridges of rifle rounds spent on felling his favorite enemies. Learning much from the Kul Tiran Marines, he maintains a decent sense of professional etiquette in his dealings with others which gives the allusion that he can be on the level with them which is much unlike goblinkind. His Alignment is Chaotic Neutral, which encompasses someone going his own way as he likes it. While not entirely self-serving, Zerkhal is notably remembered for not wanting to take advantage of others in the way of putting them at a disadvantage(which reflected upon his grown disgust of it all his life). In a win-win scenario he desires the greater win, but in a lose-lose scenario he'll make sure the other party loses even more the harder. Having a measure of power and a good sense of personal pride matters most to him as he would sooner dismiss nuances of altruism unless there was a personal advantage he could gain from it. If he can't see himself coming out on top in anything it wouldn't be worth his efforts. Romantically he finds himself attracted to human women due to memories of his youth, but gnomes more so as he fancied a certain female gnome in his travels. He is otherwise indifferent to most other races with the exception of trolls, which he seems to exhibit racist tendencies. While he admires the more civilized Darkspear trolls, he hates other trolls with a passion and thinks that they are more debased than troggs. Category:Goblin Category:Mercenary Category:Steamwheedle Cartel Category:Characters Category:Mercenaries